Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Remembering Our Mothers

Have you ever wondered why Mother’s Day was started? Or who thought up the idea? I never thought much about it when I was younger. Why? Because I knew my mom was superwoman, and who wouldn’t want to celebrate a superhero?

However, there is a reason Mother’s Day was started. The young woman who started it was Anna Marie Jarvis.

Anna’s mother, Anna Maria Reeves Jarvis, had been an active member in campaigns for peace, workers’ safety, and health at the end of the American Civil War. Anna loved her mother. Anna felt everyone should remember that their mothers were special even in a time when women had very little say.

The first Mother’s Day was celebrated in 1907. Anna and her younger sister wanted a special day to remember their wonderful mother after her passing two years earlier.

A year later, the two sisters decided to organize a celebration on May 10 with more than 407 children and their mothers. The celebration took place at the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna wanted the children to recognize how special their mothers were in their lives.

In 1910, the state of West Virginia officially recognized Mother’s Day as a holiday. By then, mothers were already being celebrated every year. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day would be a national holiday on the second Sunday of May.

Mother’s Day is a time for us to celebrate the person who comforts us, wipes away our tears, fixes our cuts and scratches, and takes care of us. It’s so important we show our mothers how much they truly mean to us, just like Anna did.

I hope you'll join me as I share about mothers and how special they are here on my blog.